Smoother and faster navigation, for ocean-going freighters and fishing boats alike, count as one of the major benefits of the Three Gorges Dam. The widened and deepened waterway between Chongqing and the dam (and onwards towards Shanghai) is expected to speed up the transport of people and goods considerably. Government statistics show that annual freight traffic passing through the Three Gorges region has nearly tripled since 2003 when the reservoir first began storing water. Officials hope this would eventually translate into faster economic growth for towns and cities along the Three Gorges, historically one of the poorest areas in China. [Taipingxi, Nov 2008.]